Method of handling bales

ABSTRACT

A bale wagon which unloads bales one at a time. The wagon is provided with a bale pick-up, a bale tier former, and a load rack which receives the tiers of bales from the bale tier former. A cross conveyor is mounted on the bale tier former, and when discharging the bales are dropped a tier at a time from the load rack onto the bale tier former, the lowest layer of bales on the tier being engaged by the cross conveyor and discharged, while the layer next above the lowest layer is held from interference with the lowest layer.

United States Patent Grey et a1.

[451 Dec. 19, 1972 [54] METHOD OF HANDLING BALES [22] Filed: Nov. 1,1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 194,305

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Scr. No. 870,828, June 6,1969, Pat. No. 3,638,808, which is a division of Ser. No. 755,141, Aug.26, 1968, Pat. No. 3,502,230.

[52] US. Cl ..214/152 [51] Int. Cl ..B65g 60/00 [58] Field of Search..214/6 B, 8.5 A, 8.5 R, 8.5 F,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,510,013 Best ..214/6 B6/1970 Grey et a1. ..214/6 B 7/1970 Walters ..214/6 B [57] ABSTRACT Abale wagon which unloads bales one at a time. The wagon is provided witha bale pick-up, a bale tier former, and a load rack which receives thetiers of bales from the bale tier former. A cross conveyor is mounted onthe bale tier former, and when discharging the bales are dropped a tierat a time from the load rack onto the bale tier former, the lowest layerof bales on the tier being engaged by the cross conveyor and discharged,while the layer next above the lowest layer is held from interferencewith the lowest layer.

. 3 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures sum 1 0F 9 wRk PATENTEI] DEC 1 9 i972SHEET 2 [1F 9 PATENTEU sec 19 m2 SHEET 3 BF 9 PATENTED DEC 19 m2 SHEET 50F 9 PAIENIEBnEc 19 m2 SHEET 8 [IF 9 PATENTED DEC 1 9 I972 SHEET 9 OF 9METHOD OF HANDLING BALES This is a division of U.S. Pat. applicationSer. No. 870,828, filed June 6, 1969, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,808granted Feb. 1, 1972, which was a division of U.S. Pat. application Ser.No. 755,141 filed Aug. 26, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,230, grantedMar. 24, 1970.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally toagricultural machinery, and more particularly to a bale wagon which isprovided with means for automatically loading and unloading bales of hayand the like.

In different farming communities different bale handling practices areemployed. In the southwestern United States, where the climate is fairlyarid, it is common practice to assemble the hay bales into large stackswhich are stored either outdoors or under open sided shelters. In morehumid areas, such as for example in the eastern United States, it isusually the practice to store hay bales in an enclosed structure such asa barn.

In recent years attempts have been made to mechanize the handling ofbales. However, due to the variations in storing the bales no singlemachine has heretofore been designed which is suitable for both openstack storage and/or barn storage. Also, those machines which have beendeveloped for bale handling where storage is inside of a barn stillrequire appreciable hand labor in the process of transporting the balesfrom the field into the barn.

A bale wagon has been'developed for handling bales where they are to bestacked outdoors. This wagon, which is illustrated in the U.S. Pat. toGrey, No. 2,848,127 issued Aug. 19, 1958, includes a bale pickupmechanism which picks up bales off the ground and transfers the balesonto a first table on the wagon. After a layer of bales has beenaccumulated on the first table, the bales are then transferred to asecond table where they are accumulated to form a tier of bales/The tierof bales, which may have three, four, or more layers, is thentransferred onto a load rack or third table where the tiers are thenaccumulated in side by side fashion to form a stack of bales. When astack of bales has been accumulated-on the load rack the load rack isthen pivoted rearwardly to deposit the stack of bales upon the ground.The machine shown in the Grey patent does not unload bales individually.

A bale thrower has been developed for use in areas where hay bales arestored in barns. One example of a bale thrower is shown in the U. S.Pat. to Smoker et al., No. 3,132,754'issued May 12, 1964. The balethrower reduces the manual labor of picking up the bales in the fieldand transferring them to a wagon, the bales being thrown directly fromthe baler into the wagon in a random array. However, it is stillnecessary to manually unload the bales from the wagon onto an elevator,the elevator, or conveyor, subsequently transferring the bales into thebarn or other enclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a mechanism which can pick up bales from the field andautomatically discharge the bales one at a time for subsequent conveyinginto a barn or the like.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide ahay wagon which has means for picking up bales from a field, means toassemble the bales into stacks, each stack being formed of a pluralityof side by side tiers and each tier having a plurality of verticallyarranged layers, and means operable to discharge the bales in singlefile.

A further object of this inventionis to provide a novel method ofunloading bales in which a stack of bales mounted on the bale w gon isunloaded by conveying the bottom layer of a tier of bales outwardly insingle file while holding the layer immediately above the bottom layerfrom interference with the bottom layer, then permitting the nexthighest layer to drop into the position previously occupied by thedischarged bales, then, while holding the next highest layer out ofengagement with the bales now in the lower position, discharging thelower bales, and repeating the above steps until the entire tier hasbeen discharged, and then 7 advancing the stack of bales on the wagontoward the discharge portion until another tier of bales assumes theposition originally assumed by the discharged tier, and then repeatingthe previous discharging steps.

It is another object of this invention to provide a method ofdischarging bales on a bale wagon having pick-up m'eans and means toform the picked up bales into tiers which are subsequently assembledinto a stack on the load receiving bed of the wagon, the methodincluding the steps of advancing the stack forwardly toward the tierforming means until the foremost tier is in engagement with the tierforming means, and then discharging the bales in single file, layer bylayer. I l

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a balewagon having pick-up means adapted to pick up bales from the field, atier forming means which receives bales from the pick-up means andassembles them into tiers having a pluralityof layers, and a load rackwhich receives the tiers of bales and, forms them into a stack having aplurality of side by side tiers, the tier forming means being providedfurther with means for discharging the bales in single file, and theload rack being provided further with means for advancing the stack ofbales towards the tier forming means.

The above objects, and others which will be apparent to those skilled inthe art, are accomplished by providing a bale stacking and handlingwagon having a chassis which is adapted to be propelled forwardly overthe field. Mounted on the forward end of the chassis is a bale pick-updevice which picks up bales one at a time and accumulates two or morebales in a transverse array on a first table. When the first table hasbeen fully loaded it automatically swings upwardly about a transverselyextending pivot to dump the bales upon a second table. As additionallayers are accumulated on the first table they are automaticallytransferred to the second table to form a tier having a plurality oflayers. Once the second table has been fully loaded it transfers thetier to a load rack or third table spaced rearwardly of the second tableby a swinging movement of the second table about rearwardly spacedtransverse pivot means. Additional tiers are loaded onto the load rackto form a stack of bales. Once a stack of bales has been accumulatedupon the load rack it may be discharged in either of two modes, onebeing as a stack, and the l060ll 0034 other being individually. When itis desired to discharge the bales as a stack, the load rack is pivotedrearwardly about a transverse axis to set the entire load upon theground. If it is desired to discharge the bales individually, the stackof bales on the load rack is shifted forwardly until one tier of balesfalls on the second table which is held in an inclined position. A crossconveyor on the second table then moves the lower layer of balesoutwardly to a discharge point, while means engage the layer of balesnext above the lowest layer to hold them from interference with thelowest layer of bales. After the first layer of bales has beendischarged the second layer is permittedto drop and the operation isthen repeated until the entire tier has been discharged. After the tierhas been discharged the stack is advanced forwardly again to deposit thesecond tier on the inclined second table and the procedure set forthabove is then repeated until the entire stack has been discharged.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are plan views of the front and rear portions,respectively, of the bale wagon of this invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are side views of the front and rear portions,respectively, of the bale wagon of this invention.

FIGQZC is a side view of the second table of the bale wagon in itssingle bale unloading position.

FIG. 2D is a side view of bale engaging tines disposed in their singlebale unloading position.

FIG. 3 is a section taken along the lines 3-3 in FIG. 2A showing thesecond table cross conveyor in the position normally assumed when singlebale unloading.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a detail shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line 5 -5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view of the, underside of the second table illustrating aportion of the cross conveyor and the bale holding means; i

FIGS. 7 and 8 are plan and side views, respectively, of the rolling rackwhich advances the stack of bales forwardly on the loadrack, andincludes details of the cam means which causes the rolling rack to tipforwardly as the last tier of bales is discharged onto the second table.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating the relationship between thevarious hydraulic components of the bale wagon of this invention.

FIGS. 10, 11, and 12 are somewhat schematic side views illustrating thebale wagon of this invention and various stages of its operation, FIG.10 showing the position of the bale wagon when retrieving a stack ofbales FIG. 11 showing the bale wagon with a full stack of bales upon theload rack, and FIG. 12 illustrating the wagon after one tier of baleshas been shifted from the full stack onto the second table fordischarge.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the following descriptionright hand and left hand reference is determined by standing at the rearof the bale wagon and facing in the direction of travel.

IN GENERAL The bale wagon of this invention is provided with a chassis,indicated generally as 10, mounted on a pair of right and left handwheels only the right wheel 12 being shown in the various figures. Thechassis is formed of left and right longitudinally extending rails, 14and 16, respectively, which converge togetherat their forward end. Theforward end of the chassis is provided with a clevis assembly 18 (FIG.1A) which is adapted to be secured to a tractor represented by thedrawbar 20. A power shaft 22 is rotatably journalled on the chassis 10,such as for example by bracket 24, and its forward end is adapted to besecured to the power take-off of a tractor. Secured to a rear portion ofpower shaft 22 are first and second sprockets 28 and 30. A chain 32 isdisposed over the sprocket 30 and a sprocket 34 mounted on the forwardend of a pump 500 FIG. 2A which is secured to the chassis in anyconventional fashion. It should be noted at this point that while thebale wagon illustrated in the drawings is adapted to be secured to atractor having a power take-off shaft, the bale wagon may beself-propelled, or be provided with its own power source.

Mounted on the chassis to the rear of the second transfer table is athird transfer table or load rack 250. Tiers of bales are transferredfrom the second table onto the load rack 250, the tiers of bales beingsupported in part by a rolling rack, indicated generally at 300. (FIG.1B) The foregoing structure, as broadly outlined above, is well known inthe prior art, one example of this being shown in the aforementionedGrey patent.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings each layer formed on thefirst table has two bales, and each tier formed on the second table hasfour layers, and thus a total of eight bales. However, it should beunderstood that the layers and tiers may be formed with differentnumbers of bales and layers, respectively.

A cross conveyor 350 (FIGS. 1A and 2A) is mounted on the second tablethe conveyor 350 being adapted to discharge bales on the second table tothe right hand side thereof. Bale engaging means, indicated generally at352, are mounted on the second table and are operable to contact a layerabovethe layer being discharged to prevent interference with the layerof bales being discharged.

The first, second, and third tables, the cross conveyor, and the baleengaging means are operated by various hydraulic devices which receivetheir fluid power from the pump 500 in a manner which is more fullydescribed below. While the bale wagon is provided with its own pump, itshould be obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art that whenthe implement is connected to a tractor that the tractor hydraulicsystem may be used to supply the hydraulic power required by the balewagon.

BALEPICK-UP The bale pick-up mechanism (FIGS. 1A and 2A) has a framewhich is disposed to the left side of the chassis and is mounted thereonin a conventional manner for swinging movement about a generallylongitudinally extending axis disposed between the frame and the chassis10. The forward end of the frame is open and extending upwardly alongthe back wall 102 is a conveyor 104 having lugs 104'. The frame hasouter and inner side walls 106, 108, respectively, and a following door(not illustrated) is pivotally mounted on the upper forward cross framemember 110. As previously mentioned the power shaft 22 is provided witha first sprocket 28. A chain 128 is disposed over the sprocket 28 andalso over a sprocket 130 mounted on a longitudinally extending jackshaft 132 which is in turn mounted to the left side of the chassis. Asheave 134 is mounted on the rear end of the jack shaft and power istransmitted from this sheave by a belt 136 to a sheave 138 mounted onajack shaft 139 which is joumalled for rotation on the pick-up baleframe. The belt 136 passes over a pair of mule sheaves (not shown). Asprocket 140 is mounted on shaft 139, and the conveyor 104 is driven bythe sprocket 140. A sprocket 142 is mounted on a mid-portion of the jackshaft 132 and drives a conveyor chain 144 whose inner end is disposedabout a sprocket 146 mounted in a suitable fashion on the chassis.

As the bale wagon of this invention is propelled over a field havingbales thereon, the one end of one of the bales (indicated at A in FIG.2A) will enter the open forward end of the bale pick-up mechanism andengage the conveyor 104. As the conveyor rotates in a counterclockwisedirection (when viewed from the right) the rear end of the bale will beelevated (as indicated at B in FIG.'2A) and continued rotation of theconveyor will cause the bale to be moved upwardly as it is confinedbetween the conveyor, the inner and outer side walls, and the followingdoor, until it can fall on its side over the top of the inner side ontothe first transfer table, assuming the position indicated at C in FIG.2A. The means for tipping each bale laterally onto the first table isnot shown, but may be similar to that shown in the Grey patent.

FIRST TRANSFER TABLE The first transfer table 150 (FIGS. 1A and 2A) isformed of two transversely extending beams 152 and 154 which are mountedon the forwardly extending horizontal portion 156 of an L-shapedstructure indicated generally at 158. The L-shaped structure includes arear upwardly extending leg portion 160 which is pivotally secured at162 to spaced apart brackets 164 mounted on the right and left hand siderails 16, 14, respectively. A hydraulic cylinder 502 is-pivotallysecured by means of a pivot pin 166 to a forwardly extending lug 168which is mounted on a transverse frame member 170, the member 170 beingmounted between the right and left hand rails of the chassis 10. The rodend 504 of the cylinder 502 is pivotally secured to an arm 172 which iswelded or otherwise secured to the L-shaped member 158. It should beobvious that if the cylinder 502 is extended that the first transfertable 150 will be swung upwardly about the pivot point 162 transferringany bales on the table (such as for example bale C) onto the secondtransfer table 200, the transferred bale assuming the position shown atD. The first table cylinder 502 is caused to be operated by actuation ofa trip lever 174 (FIG. 1A) which will cause the valve 506 to directfluid from the pump 500 into the cylinder 502. It should be notedhowever that the trip lever 174 will not actuate the valve 506 unless abale is contacting a second trip lever 176. This is to preventaccidental transfer of only one bale from the first table onto thesecond table if when loading the first bale it should slide from theleft hand end to the right hand end of the transfer table. However, innormal operation the first bale will not contact the trip lever 174until it is forced into its furthest right hand position by the loadingof additional bales behind it. The operation of the bale pick-up and thefirst transfer table is more fully disclosed in the U. S. Pat. to Greyet al., No. 3,330,424 issued July '1 1, 1967.

SECOND TABLE The second transfer table (FIGS. 1A and 2A) .is mounted ona pair of L-shaped structures 202 each having a forwardly extending legportion 204 and an upwardly extending rear leg portion 206 which isdisposed at right angles to the portion 204, each of upwardly extendingportions 206 being secured by pivot 208 to depending lug 210 mounted onthe forward end portion 252 of the load rack. A transverse frame member211 is welded across the forward ends of the legs 204 and it may besupported on a pair of spaced apart rubber blocks 212. The blocks 212are mounted.

on a transversely extending rail member 214 which is welded or otherwisesuitably secured to the brackets 164. Plates 215 are fixed across legs204 and 211 and form the surface upon which tiers are formed. In thenormal tier forming position the second table 200 is disposed in theposition shown in FIGS. 2A and 13 with the member 211 supported onblocks 212. However, when it is desired to transfer a tier of balesformed on the table 200 to the load rack the second table cylinder 508(FIG. 2B) is extended causing the table 200 to swing about the pivotpoint 208. The anchor end 510 of the cylinder 508 is secured by means ofa pivot pin 216 to the load rack 250. The rod end 512 is pivotallysecured by means of a pivot 218 to a rearwardly extending member 220whose forward end is secured to a rear portion of the L-shaped structure202.

The operation of the second table 200 and of its cylinder 508 will bemore fully set forth below, however, it should be noted when four layersof bales D have been accumulated on the second table during the stackforming operation that the table will automatically swing up about thepivot 208 to deposit the tier of bales in the position shown by thebales E in FIG. 2A, and then automatically resume its tier formingposition shown in FIGS. 2A and 11.

LOAD RACK The load rack or load bed 250 includes a platform assembly 254which is mounted for swinging movement about a pair of transverselyrearwardly disposed pivot pins 256 The pivot pins 256 are supported onupwardly and rearwardly extending brackets 258 secured to the rear endof the left and right hand frame members 14, 16, respectively.

During the stack forming operation as the second table 200 is swungupwardly to deposit the tiers of bales upon the load bed 250 the rollingrack 300 is contacted by the bales and forced rearwardly as successivetiers of bales are placed upon the load rack 250. The tiers of bales arelaterally confined by right and left hand side shields 260, only theright hand side'shield being shown in FIG. 2B. Each side shield issupported by upwardly extending front and rear struts 262, 264,respectively, the upper end of the struts being secured to each other. Aplurality of transversely arrayed tines 266 are carried by atransversely extending rod 268 whose ends are journalled in anadjustable bracket 270, the adjustable bracket being secured to a fixedmember 272 carried by the upper end of the struts 262, 264. The tines266 are pivotally secured to the rod 268 for limited vertical movementand the position of the rod 268 is controlled by a control leverassembly 274. When the handle 276 of the control lever assembly is inits lower position (FIG. 2B) the rod 268 has been rotated to its fullextent in a counterclockwise direction. In this position the lower ends278 of the tines 266 will be engaged'by the tiers of bales as they areloaded upon the platform 254 of the load bed. However, the tines will beable to pivot upwardly about the rod to permit the tier of bales to beloaded on the bed. After one or more tiers have been loaded onto theload rack the end 278 of each tine 266 will engage the top of the lastloaded tier to prevent forward tipping movement of the tier. Whenunloading the tiers forwardly, as when single bale unloading, it isnecessary to move the tines 266 out of engagement with the upper layerof bales of the tiers. This is accomplished by swinging the handle 276to its upper position shown in FIG. 2C. In this position the rod 268will be rotated clockwise and the tines 266 will be engaged by anabutment carried by the rod 268 and swung to an out of the way positionshown in FIG. 2C. The handle 276 is interconnected with the rod 268 bymeans of a bracket 280 fixed to the rod 268, and a link in the form of arod 282, one end of the rod 282 being connected to the bracket 280 andthe other end of the rod being connected to a rotatable lug 284 mountedon one side of the handle.'T.he handle vis secured by meansof a pivot286 to a lug 288 carried by the strut 262. A catch 290 is adapted toengage the handle 276 and hold it in its lowest position while a secondcatch 292 is adapted to hold the handle 276 in its upward position. Eachof the catches 290,292 is mounted on the strut 262.

A reinforcing pipe 294 extends between the right and left hand brackets27 2.

Forks 296 are mounted to the rear of the platform assembly 254, each ofthe forks 296 being formed of a plurality of metal plates which arewelded together in a laminated form. In the embodiment shown in thedrawings the lower portion 296b is formed from five plates, while theupper portion 296 is formed from an extension of the outer two platesand the intermediate plate.

ROLLING RACK The rolling rack 300 is mounted on the platform assembly254 of the load rack 250 and is adapted to support a stack of bales inthe manner best shown in FIG. 12. The rolling rack 300 includes twospaced apart forks 302 (FIG. 1B) which are mounted for movement on theplatform 254. Each fork 302 includes a transversely extending webportion 304, a rearwardly extending inner aligning portion 306 and aforwardly extending outer portion 308, which is adapted to dig into thebales loaded against the fork to provide lateral stability.

The forks 302 are carried for movement on the assembly 254 by a pair oftrolley assemblies 3l0 (shown in detail in FIGS. 7 and 8) each trolleyassembly being adapted to run in a groove 312 formed in the platformassembly 254. The two trolley assemblies are interconnected by atransversely extending member 314. Each trolley assembly includes alongitudinally extending member 316 which is welded to an end of thetransverse member 314. Front and rear lower rollers 318, 320,respectively, are mounted on the member 316 in a conventional fashion,the roller being adapted to contact the lower surface 322 of theplatform assembly 254 adjacent the groove 312. An upper rear roller 324is mounted on member 316, the roller 324 being adapted to contact theupper surface 326. A rack pad 328 is also secured to the member 316, thelower surface of the rack pad being adapted to contact the upper surface326. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the member 316 can moveonly in a fore-and-aft direction as its vertical movement is limited bythe rollers 318, 320, and 324 as well as by pad 328, the transversemovement of the member 316 being limited by the transverse member 314and the outer edge 329 of the groove 312.

Each of the forks 302 is welded to a transversely extending member 330which is triangular in cross section, the outer flange 308 being weldedto the end of the member 330. A pair of forwardly extending mount ingbrackets 332 are welded at their rear ends to the triangular framemember 330, the forward ends of the brackets 332 being pivotally securedto the member 316 by means'of a pivot bolt 334. Rearward pivotalmovement of the forks 302 is controlled by a stop 336 which contacts theupper rear surface of the member 316, the stop 336 being welded to oneside of the bracket 332. Forward pivotal movement is limited by thecontact of the upper surface 338 of the bracket 332 with the rear edge340 of the transverse member 314, although in normal operation it is notlikely that the rack will contact the rear edge 340 except uponcompletion of the discharge of the last tier of bales when unloading inthe single bale mode.

The operation of the rolling rack will be more fully described below,however at this point it should be noted that the rolling rack can beadvanced forwardly or rearwardly by means of a cable 342, the cablebeing interconnected with a double acting hydraulic cylinder 528. Whentiers of bales are being loaded onto the load rack fluid is displacedfrom the cylinder through a relief valve back to the reservoir to permitthe rack to be moved rearwardly as tiers of bales are being loaded ontothe load bed, however, the cylinder may be posi tively controlled foreither forward or reverse movement of the forks 302 as when picking up astack of bales or unloading tiers of bales onto the second table fordischarge a bale at a time.

When unloading tiers of bales onto the second table it is necessary totip the last tier forwardly to properly deposit it upon the secondtable. To this end a pair of cams 344 are mounted on the platformassembly 254 to either side of the grooves 312. A cam roller 346 isjournalled between a pair of spaced apart lugs 348 which extendforwardly from the triangular cross section frame member 330, therebeing one roller 346 for each cam track 344. As the rolling rack isadvanced forwardly from its full line position (FIG. 8) to its brokenline position, the roller 346 will contact the cam track 344 and causethe forks to rotate forwardly about the pivot bolt 344 in such a mannerthat the forks will assume the inclined position shown in FIG. 2B.

DISCHARGE CONVEYOR AND BALE ENGAGING MEANS When single bale unloading,tiers of bales are discharged one at a time onto the second table, and across conveyor 350 engages the end bale of the lowest layer of bales andshifts the bales to the right for discharge, the bale engaging means 352engaging the layers of bales above the layer being discharged, thisbeing best illustrated in FIG. 2C. The cross conveyor is bestillustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 and includes a conveyor chain 354disposed over a right driven sprocket 355 and a left idler sprocket 356.A pair of paddles 358 are mounted on the conveyor chains and are adaptedto contact the left hand end of a layer of bales and shift them to theright for discharge. The cross conveyor 350 extends through a groove 360in the rear portion of the second table 200. The bale engaging hooks 352are controlled by the conveyor 350 in such a fashion that the hooks willbe withdrawn as the layer being discharged has passed completely to theright of the layer above it. Obviously, if the table is inclined, in themanner shown in FIG. 12, the bales disposed above the discharge layerwill shift downwardly until they engage the upper rounded corner 299 ofbox beam member 298 (FIG. 2A) on the forward edge of the load bed 250.The box beam member extends laterally outwardly to either side of theplatform assembly (FIG. 1B) to provide additional support for the balesbeing discharged.

The bale engaging means 352 are in the form of hooks 362 (FIGS. 2A and6) fixedly secured to a rotatable rock shaft 364, the shaft beingjournalled in a pair of bearings 366 carried by the two leg portions204. A rock arm 368 is secured to the rock shaft 364 and is adapted tobe actuated by a rock lever 370 through means of a pivoted link 372. Therock lever 370 is welded on one arm to a swingable arm 374, there beinga brace 376 extending between an intermediate portion of the lever 370and an intermediate portion of the arm- 374. The arm 374 is pivotallysecured by means of a pivot pin 378 to a rearwardly extending lug 380mounted on the transverse frame member 211. When the arm 374 is moved tothe left from the full line position shown in FIG. 6 to the broken lineposition the lever 370 will move rearwardly causing the rock shaft 364to rotate in a clockwise direction (when viewed from the right) raisingthe hooks 362 into engagement with the bales. As the rock shaftcontinues rotation the layers of bales above that layer which is to bedischarged will be shifted upwardly and forwardly to the positionindicated in FIG. 12. When the swingable arm 374 swings from the brokenline position to the full line position in FIG. 6 the hooks will beretracted and the bales held by the hooks may drop by gravity until thelowermost bale contacts the rounded edge 299 of the box beam member 298.

The swingable arm 374 is caused to be moved from the full line positionto the broken line position by the conveyor, the arm being held in thebroken line position by a latch mechanism 382. Upon the release of thelatch mechanism 382 the swingable arm will be swung to the full lineposition by the action of spring 384. The latch 382 is controlled, ortripped, by the action of the paddles 358 as it contacts a trip arm 386.When the arm 386 is contacted it will pivot within the aperture lug 388,causing the latch 382 to swing away from arm 374 about the pivot 390 bythe action of the link 392 which interconnects the latch 382 with thetrip arm 386.

At one end of the swingable arm 374 is a conveyor engaging assembly,indicated generally at 394. The conveyor engaging assembly is providedwith a hook 396 which is caused to be swung into engagement with theconveyor chain when the arm 376 attains its full line position in FIG.6, the hook being swung out of engagement with the conveyor chain whenthe arm 396 attains its broken line position shown in FIG. 6. Theconveyor engaging assembly includes a shuttle 398 which is slidablydisposed about the conveyor chain, the shuttle having front and rearside portions 400 disposed to either side of a bight portion 402 whoselower surface rides upon the upper surface of the lower flight of theconveyor, there being inwardly directed flange portions 404 at the lowerend of the side portions 400. A pair of upwardly extending lugs 406 aremounted on the bight 402 of the shuttle and a pin 408 is carriedthereby. The hook 396 is journalled about the pin 408 and has anupwardly extending end portion 410. A hook actuating assembly includingspaced apart plates 412 are also joumalled about the pin 408. The upperends of the plates 412 carry a stud assembly 414 about which isjournalled a roller '416. Extending through and to either side of theplates 412 is a pin 418, the ends of the pin being interconnected bysprings 420 to downwardly and outwardly extending L-shaped members 422carried by the shuttle 398.

The operation of the discharge conveyor 350 and the bale engaging means352 is as follows: The sprocket 355 is rotated causing the conveyorchain to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3.Assuming that the paddles are in the position shown in FIG. 3 and thehooks are retracted (with the swingable arm in the position shown infull lines in FIG. 6), movement of the conveyor chain will cause the armto move from the full line position towards the broken line position inFIG. 6. As the shuttle advances to the left side of the machine the arm374 will pass over the latch 382. Continued movement to the left willcause the hook to be disengaged from the cross pin 424 when the roller416 contacts the abutment 426 carried on the lower surface of one of theplates 215. While the shuttle is now disengaged from the conveyor, thearm will not return to the full line position as it is engaged by thelatch 382. When the paddle contacts the trip arm 386 the latch 382 willbe released and the arm 374 will swing toward its full line position.During this movement the hook 396 will be held from engagement with anycross pin 424 since the plate 412 will have swung to an overcenterposition, that is to say that the springs 420 have passed to the otherside of the pivot pin 408, the upper end of the hook being in contactwith the intermediate portion of pin 418. When the arm reaches its fullline position the roller 416 will contact the cross shaft 430 (securedto the underside of the second table in a conventional manner) forcingthe plates away from their overcenter position whereby the pin 418- willnot be in contact with the upper end 410 of the hook 396. In thisposition the hook will drop by gravity'until the hook portion engagesone of the cross pins 424.

BALE PICK-UP ANDISITACK FoRMifi'o OPERATION As the bale wagon of thisinvention is propelled forwardly over a field it will pick up baleslaying upon the ground, indicated at A in FIG. 2A and lift them upwardlyinitially to a position indicated at 2B and then to a position where themajor axis of the bale is vertical, at which time it will be tipped overonto its side into the position indicated at C in FIG. 2A. The firstbale will be conveyed to the right by the conveyor chain indicated at144, and when a second bale is picked up and loaded onto the first tablethe first bale will contact the trip lever 174 and the second bale willcontact the second trip lever 176 causing the valve 506 to shift fromits normal position shown in FIG. 9 to that position where fluid will bedirected into the first table cylinder 502 causing the cylinder toextend forcing the table upwardly to shift the layer of bales onto theforward edge of the second table. As the table 150 attains its fullyraised position the valve 506 is shifted back to its normal position bya trip mechanism not material to the present invention, and the tablewill then fall to its lowered position forcing the fluid trapped withinthe cylinder 502 through the valve 506 back to the fluid reservoir 514.As additional pairs of bales are picked up they will be formed into alayer on the first table and transferred to the second table until fourlayers have been accumulated upon the second table. At this point therearward layer of bales on the table will contact trip lever 222 movingit back to a latched position against the action of spring 222a, thesecond table valve 516 shifting from its normal position, shown in FIG.9, through an intermediate valve position to that position where thefluid is directed through line 518, pilot operated check valve or lockout valve 520, and line 5221101116 anchor end of the second tablecylinder 508. As the second table cylinder is extended it will raise thetable 200. As the second table 200 swings upwardly due to the extensionof the cylinder 508 the cam 224 on the L-shaped support structure 202for the second table (FIG. 28) will move out of contact with the shoe226 carried by the upwardly biased rod 228. As the rod 228 movesupwardly the selector valve 524 will be shifted from the normal positionshown in FIG. 9 to its other position causing displaced oil from thecylinder 508 to flow through line 526 and second table control valve 516back into reservoir 514. As the table 200 attains its fully raisedposition it will set the tier of bales formed on the second table on theforward end'of the load rack or bed as represented by the broken linebales E in FIG. 2A. At this point the trip 223 (FIG. 28) on therearwardly extending member 220 will contact the latch release arm 223a,releasing the latch which holds arm 222 permitting it to be shiftedforwardly by the spring 222a. As the trip lever 222 m'oves forwardly thespool within the second table control valve 416 will be shifted causingthe flow of fluid within lines 518 and 526 to be reversed, the fluidinitially'entering the rod end of the cylinder 508 and being dischargedthrough the line 522, lock out valve 520, line 518, and valve 516 backto the reservoir 514. After the table has descended partially the shoe226 will becontacted by the cam surface 224 shifting the valve 524 backto its normal position shown in FIG. 9 at which time flow from the pumpthrough the valve 516 will return to reservoir 514 through valve 524.However, the weight of the second table will continue to force thecylinder assembly 508 into its retracted position displacing the fluidfrom the anchor end of the cylinder through lines 522 and 518 into thereservoirflt should be noted that during this stage of the operation ifpressure should fail within the system lock out valve 520 will preventthe table from descending any further. I

As the tiers of bales are placed upon the load bed they will contact therolling rack 300 and force it rearwardly. As previously noted themovement of the rolling rack is controlled by a cylinder, the rack beinginterconnected with the cylinder by-means of a cable 342. One end of thecable 342 is connected to the rear end of the platform assembly 254,intermediate portions of the cable being disposed over first, second,third, and fourth sheaves 342a, 342b, 3420, and 342d, mountedrespectively on the rod end of the rolling rack cylinder 528, the rearend of the platform assembly 254, the forward end of the platformassembly 254, and the rod end of the cylinder 528. An intermediate por+tion of the cable between sheaves 342b and 342c is fixedly secured tothe transverse frame member 314. As the tiers of bales are loaded ontothe load bed the rolling rack will be shifted rearwardly. During thisoperation the control valve 530 is in its normal position shown in FIG.9 and fluid is discharged from the anchor end of the cylinder through alow pressure relief valve 532. A portion of the displaced fluid willreturn to the rod end of the cylinder 528 through line'533 and checkvalve 534, while the balance of the fluid will return to the reservoir514. When the load bed is fully loaded the forks 302 will overlie theforks 296 mounted on the platform assembly 254, with the rearwardlyextending flange portions 306 being disposed to the inner side of theforks 296, this being best illustrated in FIG. 1B.

STACKING OPERATION When the third transfer table has been fully loaded,in'the manner indicated in FIG. 11, the load can be transferred onto theground in the form of a stack simply by causing the third tablecylinders 535 to be extended, only one of the two third table cylindersbeing shown in the drawings. After the stack has attained the positionillustrated in FIG. 10 it is only necessary to move the wagon forwardlyto leave the stack upon the ground, the forks 296, 302 sliding out frombeneath the stack of bales. The cylinders 535 are controlled by a valve536 which is shifted manually through control lever 538 at the forwardend of the wagon (FIG. 1A). After the stack has been unloaded it is thenonly necessary to shift the valve to return the cylinders to their fullyretracted position, at which point the valve 536 is placed in itsneutral position which permits flow from the pump 500 to go to the valve516 which controls the second table.

STACK RETRIEVING OPERATION To retrieve a stack of bales it is firstnecessary to remove the tines 266 from the cross rod 268. A spikedretrieving bar 230 is then bolted to the forward end of the secondtransfer table 200. If the rolling rack 300 is not in contact with theforks 296 then it is necessary to shift the rack to that position. Thisis accomplished by first shifting the spool of valve 516 to itsintermediate position, this being accomplished to control 540 at theforward end of the machine, the control 540 being operativelyinterconnected with the valve 516 by means of a push-pull control rod542 (FIG. 2A). When the second table cylinder control valve 516 is inits intermediate position and the valves 506 and 536 for the first tablecylinder and third table or load rack cylinder, respectively, are intheir normal positions, as shown in FIG. 9, fluid from the pump 500 willbe directed through line 550 to a manually operated control valve 544.When the valve is in its normal intermediate position, as shown in FIG.9, the fluid would be directed back to reservoir 514. When it is desiredto movethe rolling rack to its extreme rearward position the valvecontrol lever 546 is moved forwardly shifting the spool within the valve544 in the forward direction so that fluid from the pump 500 is thendirected through fluid line 548 to the rod end of the rolling rackcylinder 528, causing the rack to be moved to the rear end of the loadrack. Upon attainment of the rearmost position of the rolling rack thelever 546 is returned to its normal position, shown in FIG. 9, and theload rack cylinder control valve 536 is shifted manually through control538 to cause fluid to be directed into the anchor end of the cylinderextending the cylinder and causing the load rack to assume a verticalposition as illustrated in FIG. 10. The wagon is then backed into thestack of bales with the forks 296, 302 underlying the stack. The secondtable cylinder control valve 516 is then shifted manually throughcontrol 540 to cause the second table cylinder 508 to extend which willin turn cause the second table to engage the top of the stack with thespiked retrieving bar being dug into the uppermost layer of bales asillustrated in FIG. 10. A rope, or cable, 265 is then disposed about thebales, the ends of the cable being fixed to the lower ends of the struts264. The load rack is then lowered, the fluid within the anchor end ofthe cylinders 335 being discharged through a restrictor valve 548 whichlimits the rate of descent of the load rack.

SINGLE BALE UNLOADING OPERATION To single bale unload from a stack ofbales carried on the load bed in a manner indicated in FIG. 11 it isfirst necessary to position the second table in its single baleunloading position, this position being illustrated in FIG. 12. Toattain this position it is only necessary to operate the second cylindercontrol valve 516 manually to place the table in the intermediateposition illustrated in FIG. 12 at which time the second table supportis placed under the forward end of table. The second table support,indicated generally at 232, is best illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 2A andconsists essentially of two spaced apart vertically extending pipes 234having saddles 236 fixed to their upper ends. A generally U-shapedmember 238 interconnects the pipes 234, the

bight portion of the U-shaped member 238 being disposed above andforwardly of the saddles 236. The second table support 232 is normallystored on the forward end of the chassis as indicated in FIGS. 1A and2A, the lower end of the pipe being disposed about vertical pins 239which are carried by lugs 240 which extend to the other side of theframe members 14, 16. When the second table support 232 is placed in itstable supporting position the lower ends of the pipes 234 are disposedabout pins 242 carried by the frame member 214. In this position thesaddles 236 will be engaged by the forward transverse frame member 211of the second table.

After the second table has beenplaced in an inclined unloading positionas illustrated in FIG. 12 the second table cylinder control valve 516 isplaced in its intermediate position. Fluid under pressure from pump 500will then flow through valves 506, 536, and 516, and power out line 550to control valve 544. It is then necessary to advance the rolling rack300 to deposit a tierof bales on the second table 200. This isaccomplished by extending the rolling rack cylinder 528 which will causethe mid-portion of cable 342 to move forwardly. The cylinder 528 iscontrolled through control lever 546 and the various valves 544, 552,and 530. When the control lever 546 is shifted all the way to the rear,the spools in valves 544 and 552 will likewise be shifted to the rearcausing fluid under pressure to flow from the control valve 544 throughline 554 and valve 552 into line 556. This will cause the shuttle valve530 to be shifted from its normal position, illustrated in FIG. 9, to aposition where the fluid may then flow through the valve 530 from line556 into the anchor end of the rolling rack cylinder 528. As the rollingrack is advanced the foremost tier of the stack will pass over the boxbeam member 298 and fall onto the second transfer table 200.

The U-shaped member 238 on the support 232 will prevent any bales on thetop layer from inadvertently falling over the forward edge of the secondtable onto the first'table. As soon as a tier of bales has fallen ontothe transfer table the rolling rack is stopped and the motor 560 whichdrives the cross conveyor 350 and the bale engaging means 352 isstarted. This is accomplished by shifting the lever 546 to anintermediate rear position. This causes the spool within valve 552 to beshifted to its normal forward position illustrated in FIG. 9 while thespool within valve 544 is maintained in its rearward position. Fluidwill now flow from line 554 through valve 552 into line 558 and then tothe rotarybefore rotation of the sprocket 355 will cause bales to becontacted by the paddles 358 and discharged to the right of the machine.

When the machine isoperated the tiers of bales are transferred onto thesecond table only when the paddles 258 are in the position illustratedin FIG. 3. In this position the bale hooks 362 are disposed below thebale hook openings 363 as the arm 374 has been released byv the latch382 immediately prior to the attainment of the position shown in FIG.3,. As the motor 560 starts to rotate the lower flight of the crossconveyor chain 354 l060l l 0040 will be moved to the left of the machinecarrying the conveyor engaging assembly 394 in that direction, in turncausing the rock shaft 364 to rotate in such a manner that the hooks 362will be projected upwardly through the slots 363 so that they engage thelayer of bales immediately above the lowest layer, the engaged layer ofbales then being shifted upwardly to the position indicated in FIG. 12.This shifting movementwill take place before the paddle 358 on the lefthand side of the machine will engage the left hand end of the lowestlayer of bales. Continued rotation of the motor 560 will cause thelowest layer of bales to be discharged to the right over the extensionportion 244 of the second table. After the lowest layer of bales hasbeen discharged the other paddle 358 on the conveyor 354 will contactthe trip arm 386 causing the latch 382 to be disengaged from theconveyor engaging assembly,

' permitting the swingable arm to be swung tothe right by the action ofthe spring 384, lowering the hooksbeneath the slots in the table topermit the next lowest layer of bales to assume the lowest position.Continued movementof the chain will then cause the hooks to swingupwardly engaging the next layer of bales and the paddle, which has justengaged the trip arm 286, to then engage the left hand end of balesready for discharge. After the last layer of bales has been dischargedfrom the tier of bales deposited upon the second table the rolling rackis then advanced forwardly to deposit another tier of bales upon thesecond table and then the discharge procedure set forth above isrepeated. I

Means are provided to insure that the rolling rack cannot be advancedtoward the forward end of the bale wagon except when the hooks are intheir lowered position illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 6. ln thisconnectionit should be observed that the motor which drives the conveyor chain 354and the rolling rack cylinder 528 cannot be driven at the same time, thevalve directing fluid'from line 554 either to cylinder 528 or to motor560. When the lever 546 is in its intermediate rearposition (2 in FIG.9) the motor 560 will be driven. When the lever is shifted all the wayto the rear (1 in FIG. 9) the valve spool of valve 552 will shift to therear only if the hooks are in their lowered position. A latch, shownschematically at 432, holds the valve 552 in its forward position,except when released by cable control 434. The forward end of the cablecontrol 434 is connected to one side of the rock shaft 364. The controlcable will release the latch only when the rock shaft 364 has beenrotated to its full extent in the counterclockwise direction(illustrated in FIG. 2A), the hooks then being disposed below thesurface of the table 200. Once the latch releases the valve permittingit to shift to the rear the conveyor will stop in the position shown inFIG. 3.

While a preferred structure in which the principles of the presentinvention have been incorporated is shown and described above, it is tobe understood that the invention is not to be limited to the particulardetails, shown and described above, but that, in fact, widely differentmeans may be employed in the practice of the broader aspects of theinvention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim l. A method ofloading and unloading bales to and from a bale wagon one at a time,comprising the following steps:

picking up bales one at a time;

forming said bales into tiers on a tier forming means,

said tiers including a plurality of layers disposed in side-by-siderelationship; assembling said tiers into a stack of side-by-side tiers;

advancing the stack of bales toward the tier forming means until onetier of bales is in engagement with the tier forming means; 1discharging successive layers of said one tier in single file until allof the bales in said one tier have been unloaded; and i I repeating theadvancing and discharging steps until all of the bales have beenunloaded. 1 l 2. A method of loading and unloading a bale wagon, havinga generally flat support bed and a tier forming means adjacent theretocomprising the following steps:

picking up bales; forming the bales picked up into layers; forming thelayers into tiers on said tier forming means; transferring in successioneach tier formed to said support bed to form a stack of bales thereon;moving individual tiers from said stack back to said tier forming means;separating each layer from each tier moved from said stack; conveyingthe separated layer from said bale wagon;

and repeating the steps of moving individual tiers from said stack,separating the layers thereof and conveying the separatedlayers from thebale wagon until the entire stack has been unloaded.

3. A systematic method for the efficient handling of to said support bedto form a stack of side-by-side tiers thereon;

said systematic bale handling method further comprising the unloadingsteps of:

e. moving said stack towards said transfer table in small increments,causing one tier at a time to be pushed onto said transfer table;

f. separating a layer at a time from said tier pushed from said supportbed to said transfer table;

g. conveying each separated layer from said transfer table;

h. continuing to separate a layer at a time from said tier and conveyingthat separated layer from the transfer table until the entire tierdisposed on the transfer table has been unloaded.

1. A method of loading and unloading bales to and from a bale wagon oneat a time, comprising the following steps: picking up bales one at atime; forming said bales into tiers on a tier forming means, said tiersincluding a plurality of layers disposed in side-by-side relationship;assembling said tiers into a stack of side-by-side tiers; advancing thestack of bales toward the tier forming means until one tier of bales isin engagement with the tier forMing means; discharging successive layersof said one tier in single file until all of the bales in said one tierhave been unloaded; and repeating the advancing and discharging stepsuntil all of the bales have been unloaded.
 2. A method of loading andunloading a bale wagon, having a generally flat support bed and a tierforming means adjacent thereto comprising the following steps: pickingup bales; forming the bales picked up into layers; forming the layersinto tiers on said tier forming means; transferring in succession eachtier formed to said support bed to form a stack of bales thereon; movingindividual tiers from said stack back to said tier forming means;separating each layer from each tier moved from said stack; conveyingthe separated layer from said bale wagon; and repeating the steps ofmoving individual tiers from said stack, separating the layers thereofand conveying the separated layers from the bale wagon until the entirestack has been unloaded.
 3. A systematic method for the efficienthandling of baled hay by a bale wagon of the type having a generallyflat support bed and a transfer table disposed adjacent thereto,comprising the loading steps of: a. receiving bales of hay; b. arrangingthe bales received into layers, each layer including a selected numberof longitudinal aligned bales; c. transferring each layer to saidtransfer table to form a tier of side-by-side layers thereon; d.transferring each tier formed on said transfer table to said support bedto form a stack of side-by-side tiers thereon; said systematic balehandling method further comprising the unloading steps of: e. movingsaid stack towards said transfer table in small increments, causing onetier at a time to be pushed onto said transfer table; f. separating alayer at a time from said tier pushed from said support bed to saidtransfer table; g. conveying each separated layer from said transfertable; h. continuing to separate a layer at a time from said tier andconveying that separated layer from the transfer table until the entiretier disposed on the transfer table has been unloaded.